


And those left behind

by LegacyWorks



Series: Never Yeilding [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Poorly made plans, Sometimes it's tough to be a 12 year old, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, but he's really having an extra rough time of it, partner fic, prison break - Freeform, takes place during chapter 16 of the main fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:15:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29971728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegacyWorks/pseuds/LegacyWorks
Summary: Zuko wants a lot of things. His mom to come back, his dad to love him, his sister to act like a litle sister and not a psychopath. He can't have those things, so what's stopping him from helping Aang instead.
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Never Yeilding [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2169165
Kudos: 8





	And those left behind

Zuko wakes up angry.

It’s the start of a long pattern, the flame Ozai released on him absorbed through his skin and into his soul, burning brighter and brighter. 

Zuko wakes up angry and there’s nothing he can do but sit and heal, blistered skin wrapping around his chest and over his shoulder, itching under the bandages. The healer doesn’t let him stand or sit on his own, instead forcing him to ‘stay still and drink this healing tea, your uncle will be here soon.’

He wakes up angry and all the fear has been burned away with nothing left to lose. So he plans.

His Father got rid of his Mama, sent her who knows where or killed her in exchange for his life. He keeps Aang in a cell, locked away from everything, even  _ sunlight _ . He keeps Azula tamed and afraid, even if she never shows it. Zuko’s seen his little sister looking at ghosts and jumping at shadows.

He’s even seen her playing with water and dirt and hiding her hands when someone’s watching. 

Azula always lies, but that doesn’t mean she’s always good at hiding.

Father keeps a man accused of being the Avatar locked away from anyone and everything for a title he doesn’t possess. Zuko, all 12 years of him, will not stand for this.

Instead he lies down, closes his eyes, and starts to think. 

Aang is weak. Partially from hunger, partially from lack of sunlight, partially from injury. He’s locked in a cell with only two decent ways out, walking through the dungeons or going in the tunnel. The tunnel is pretty small, though. It’s already becoming a tight fit for Zuko and he’s only twelve (almost thirteen!) so that might not work. 

If he can get out through the main exit and into a regular area of the palace there’s probably a passageway leading outside. That still means getting past the guards, past the filled cells, and up the spiral staircase without anyone sounding the alarm. Father would throw Aang back in prison and Zuko along with him. And then he’d never be able to find his Mom.

It should be doable. 

The guards are well trained, but they aren’t Azula. He can take them. Maybe. Besides, Aang’s still the Avatar, even if he’s not very strong anymore. That still means something. They’ll be able to knock out the guards easily enough. Plus, air benders can fly so if anything wrong happens they can just fly over the guards’ heads and escape that way.

Easy. All that’s left is how Aang gets away from the palace. Since he can fly it shouldn't be too difficult to get into the main city, but he’ll need coin to hire a boat or cart. Transportation costs have been rising recently, even though Zuko suggested lowering the taxes on shipping businesses. Father didn’t approve of that suggestion. 

With the rising costs Aang will need a good sum to get anywhere, especially if he’s trying to hide where he goes. 

Zuko briefly thanks his tutors for making him deal with smugglers and taxes among the piles of work he was given each day. It manages to be useful, even though the tutors themselves were awful to deal with.

With that decided, Zuko tries to sit up, stretching the burn under his bandages with a grunt. He falls back against the bed before getting even close to a sitting position, the muscles that were burned away in his chest unable to support his abdominals’ pull. 

A shout burned it’s way through his throat but he stifled it with only a few sparks escaping. 

He sits in silence, planning and waiting, before Uncle comes.

“Zuko,” the older man starts, reaching out a hand to brush at Zuko’s hair. “How are you feeling?” Zuko clenches his jaw tighter, ignoring the forming pain from the tension. He already burns all over, what’s a bit more? “Brother ascended while you rested, and Azula will stay in the palace for another week. Brother has arranged for a tournament against her former masters.”

“Good for her,” Zuko says, not at all bitter. He snaps his mouth shut again.

“I am truly sorry,” Uncle whispers. Zuko closes his eyes when they start to burn.

The only sound is breathing, and then the heavy footsteps of his Uncle walking away.

He should be healed enough in a week or two. Then he can return to his room and walk the passageway to Aang, getting him out of the home of Agni’s favored. The place Agni saw fit to burn him and take his Mama away. 

It takes a week to leave the infirmary. By that time Azula has already left for her Academy and won’t disrupt his plans unexpectedly.

_ She never visited him. _

Father didn’t decide he was worth the extra care of a constant healer. It makes sneaking out much easier - no one watching his movements or checking to make sure he’s healing at a normal rate. Other than Uncle, who keeps visiting in the mornings when Zuko can still pretend to sleep.

Walking through the tunnels is hard, but nothing Zuko can’t push through. Even as his breath shortens, as his burns stretch and tingle with tiny needles of flame, he keeps walking. 

When Aang’s door opens he stares at Zuko’s withdrawn figure as the kid walks through the sludge that is his existence, pulling out the lock picking kit he grabbed from Azula’s room. 

Sometimes Azula’s cruel pranks can be helpful. Like locking him in small closets with only a handful of tools to escape. In the dark. While he had to constantly breath flames to see because both hands were busy.

She ate his water dumpling.

So it didn’t take nearly as long to get through Aang’s cell door with the flickering lantern lighting the tools and lock. It still was longer than he wanted it to be, though. Every second he’s here is another second someone might find out he’s not in his bedroom. Or someone might walk in and see the escape. 

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Wait,” Aang interrupts, probably speaking for the first time since Zuko showed up. Or Zuko tuned out whatever he was saying.

“There’s no time.”

“Yes, there is,” Aang’s voice is just a little scolding, but still more gentle than anyone else's. Other than Mama’s. “What’s your plan?”

“To get you out of here!”

“Okay, but how? Are we just walking out?”

“Well, yeah! How else?”

“I’m willing to bet you aren’t leaving with me.” Zuko pauses, looking at Aang like he’s crazy.

“Why would I leave?”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. You’ll get in trouble for helping me out.”

“I won’t be seen!”

“Zuko. Thank you for getting me out, I can handle the rest. You should go back to your room and wait.”

“No! You don’t know the way! And you can’t even firebend to open the tunnel!”

Concentration takes over Aang’s face before a bright flash of  _ Idea! _ shifts it to something warmer.

“What if we just open everyone’s cells? People won’t notice in the chaos, right? At least I don’t think they will?” Zuko scowls at the thought of releasing a dozen prisoners, possible traitors to the crown. Then he remembers the kind maid that had been thrown in here because they were too soft on him and feels better.

“Fine. I’ll go find the keys, it’ll take too long to pick each lock.”

“Nope, I’ll go find the keys and you can stay here until most of them are released. I’ll come get you when the guards are distracted.”

“But-”

Aang already walks out the door, leaving Zuko to fume in the corner. He sits down on the chair that should have a guard in it but hasn’t for years. Stupid guards. Stupid prison. Stupid Aang. This was his idea!

There’s a brief knock on the door. When it opens the sound of shouting rushes in. Aang’s head peeks through. “Alright, let’s go.”

There’s flames shooting in every direction as Aang bobs and weaves under them, Zuko following while ducking, his shorter stature keeping him safe. The pulling of his burns and tingling when flames come too close stays as a good reminder to  _ dodge _ . 

He ignores the sight of his Father’s flames searing through his memory.

One of the guards tries to break away, probably to tell others about the prisoners, but he gets knocked to the ground by a flying chair before swarmed by angry bodies. Zuko looks away. 

“Where’s the exit?” Aang’s voice draws him back to the mission. Right, he can deal with this later.

“This way.” He leads them to another seemingly normal door at the other end of the prison. Right as he goes to open it someone pushes from the other side. A cart, probably filled with food, appears first. Then a guard, his hair tied high up.

Zuko spares a moment’s thought to Lu Ten.

“Nice Guard?” Aang says from beside him.

“Avatar? How’d you-” Nice guard looks past them to the chaos that is escaped prisoners. Piles of people, things set on fire, and of course the screaming. “Why didn’t I hear this? These doors must be thick…” The guy trails off and Aang looks concerned. 

“Are you-”

“I should have stayed home. Yep. That would have been better. I’ll uh, just,” Nice Guard turned around, faced the wall and sat down. And then he just stayed there. “Perfect. I see nothing.”

Aang laughs before shouting “thank you!” and shoving Zuko up the spiral staircase. 

“Nice guard?”

“Yep! He gave me a hair tie.” Aang’s hair was, in fact, tied up. Still messy past the point of salvation, but it was tied up.

“Oh.” They pass a door, but when Zuko peeks through it looks like the wrong floor and they keep going. Then another, then another. 

“How far down was I?” Aang asks after the eight door.

“I… don’t know. I didn’t think this far? We aren’t earthbenders, so things this deep shouldn’t… oh, shoot.” Zuko fully opens the next door and walks inside, barely concealing his presence. There’s a window looking down. Really far down.

“Argh!”

“What?”

“We went too far! Dang it, we have to go back. Unless you can fly us out?” Aang shakes his head. He still hasn’t told Zuko anything about his bending, but airbenders are supposed to fly. Maybe Aang’s still too weak, even though he’s closer to the sun. 

“Alright, that’s fine. Let’s just go, I’m sure we’ll find it.”

When they get back into the staircase there’s loud shouting echoing through the stones. The prisoners made it past the guards.

“They probably know which door!” Aang leads the way back down, dragging a pouting Zuko behind him.

The prisoners did, in fact, find the right door. They had already surged through to overwhelm the rest of the guards, surprising them with flames burning the tapestries and the few flammable bits of clothing left under their armors. 

A prisoner catches sight of them as they sneak around the edge of the room. She sends a wave of yellow flame at the two, grinning all the while.

“No!” Zuko rushes forward, planting his right foot in front and breaking the wave in half, sending it to the sides. A brief glance behind him shows Aang unharmed. The woman starts rushing, though, shooting out sharp blades of fire at Zuko’s head.

“Give me the Avatar!” 

_ How does she- _

Zuko shoots a burst of yellow-white at her face, fear fueling his flames.

She crumples down with a scream.

_ Oh god oh god ohgodohgodoh- _

Aang pulls him forward.

“Stay focused,” he says with hardened eyes and only one last glance at the prisoner. “Where are we going.”

“Right, uh,” Zuko pushes forward, faster this time. They need to get out. Word will get to the palace, and if Father finds out Zuko left his room, if Father knows about the tunnel that leads to the prison, if-

“Here. This one.” Probably. There’s a painting, just like always, with a shining fire symbol. It’s shining, so it’s a tunnel. Zuko releases a burst of flame, breathing through the heat choking his heart. He prays to Agni that it’s really a tunnel, not just a painting that would burn away.

It opens.

“Get in.”

They both scramble through before the entrance closes.

“Alright, breath for a second, Zuko. It’ll be okay.”

“No, we need to keep going. You have to get out of here before they start looking, and if you aren’t far enough away they’ll be able to find you and this’ll be useless and I won’t be able to save you and Mom won’t forgive me and I’ll never know  _ anything _ .”

Aang blinks, not seeing how most of that connects, but continues.

“Alright, we can keep going. How long do we have in this tunnel?”

Zuko lights his flame. It shudders a bit, light dancing on Aang’s features. On his tattoo.

_ That’s how she knew _ .

Zuko rips off a piece of his shirt. Or, well, he tries. The fabric is too thick, too tear resistant to get anywhere with it.

“What are you doing?” Aang asks, one eyebrow quirked.

“Your tattoo. It’s obvious you’re the avatar, so we need to cover it.”

“Oh, it’s not an Avatar thing, it’s an Air Nomad- oh. Yeah. I should cover it.” Aang pulls at a section of his own shirt, easily breaking through the worn fabric. So easily it would have been disturbing if Zuko wasn’t focusing on the fact that he  _ just broke Aang out of prison and burned a person _ .

“Let’s keep walking.”

It’s a long, winding tunnel, but there’s only one pathway. No reason for Zuko to explore and lead them to the wrong places or get lost in a maze of tunnels. There’s only silence until they finally reach the exit. Even then it’s just goodbyes while Zuko works to remember what’s left to do.

Money!

He grabs out the coin pouch for Aang. It should be enough to get him out of the Fire Nation, though Zuko doesn’t know the financial situations in the Earth Kingdom or Northern Water Tribe. The colonies sure, but Aang will probably leave those too.

“Thank you, Zuko.”

“Don’t.”

And then he walks away, heading back to the palace and the tunnel he uses when things are too much to handle. Normally he’s headed in the opposite direction.

…

Father is furious. 

He’s already hunted down all of the guards on duty during the breakout. They’re awaiting trial, even the ones that were beaten and bruised when they were swarmed by prisoners.

Zuko doesn’t say anything. 

The servants are far more quiet now. None of them want to be thrown into the dungeons, not when the Fire Lord’s temper is burning everything around him. Sometimes literally. Zuko follows their patterns, for once appreciating the restrictions that his healing body has placed on him. If the healers noticed additional damage from before the prison break they haven’t said anything.

Uncle’s watchful eye continues to appear despite Zuko’s frustrations. The man just brings him tea and looks at him with those annoyingly sad eyes.

Even now, the eyes of a general are looking way too open, way too wet. Always saying the silent words “I’m sorry.”

“Stop it.”

“Stop what, Nephew?”

“Stop looking at me like that! Why are you even apologizing? It doesn’t change anything!”

“Oh, Nephew,” he starts again, uncaring of the rage melting Zuko’s skin. “I am sorry because I could not do more.”

“Well, you still aren’t trying.”

“I know, and I am sorry for that as well.” Zuko growls. That wasn’t what he wanted! Apologies are useless if he still doesn’t know what happened to his mom!

“I hate you! Go away!”

“Zuko-”

“No!”

And then he’s left in silence. Again.

He just wants his Mama.


End file.
